Minister for the West Midlands Liam Byrne yesterday unveiled a new vision for raising skill levels in the West Midlands.

The Skills Action Plan sets out ambitious targets to boost the number of businesses across the region offering apprenticeships by 50 per cent coupled with new measures to tackle low literacy and numeracy skills amongst nearly half a million adults.

The launch came at a conference at Wolverhampton Racecourse, Dunstall Park.

Mr Byrne then went on to visit Eurofilms Extrusion, of Telford, a manufacturer of palletwrap stretchfilm, to see how a partnership with Telford College of Arts and Technology is delivering new skills and raising productivity levels through the Learning and Skills Council's Train to Gain initiative.

The Action Plan, published jointly by the LSC and Advantage West Midlands, will be part of the Regional Economic Strategy.

It has been worked out with the help of the CBI, Chambers of Commerce, Engineering Employers Federation, and the West Midlands Local Government Association.

The aim is that by 2011 numbers of apprentices being taken on will rise from 12,000 to 18,000.

There would be more than 400,000 extra adults with functional literacy and over 300,000 extra adults with functional numeracy.

The plan is for a 25 per cent increase in the number of graduates recruited by West Midlands businesses, particularly from the region's universities - rising to 17,000 graduates per year.

Mr Byrne said: "This is quite simply about changing peoples' lives. In the 21st century the West Midlands will win in the world, not on cost but on skill.

"That's why we need a huge boost to the number of apprentices and why we need to wage a new war of illiteracy. Skills are the key to new jobs and better wages. Skills are the key to a richer region in the decade ahead."

Meanwhile Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry has joined forces with the CBI West Midlands to support a new initiative to help improve the skills of workers in the region.

The Skills Pledge is a voluntary public commitment made by business leaders to help employees improve their skills.

Since its launch last year, more than 500 of the largest UK employers have committed.

The initiative is via the Train To Gain scheme, which helps up-skill employees at little or no additional expense to their employers.

Kay Greenbank, director of employment and skills at Birmingham Chamber, said: "If the UK is to compete in a global economy - and the emerging markets in Eastern Europe and Asia - we need to invest more in skills.

"Without a better skilled and qualified workforce, we will not improve our productivity. A skilled workforce improves our ability to innovate and develop new technologies. This is something we have been traditionally good at in the UK and sets us apart from low-cost, low-skill countries."